Low–temperature exchange of hydrogen and deuterium between molecular ethanol and water on Au(111)

• Published in: Surface science Vol. 680; pp. 1 - 5
• Main Authors: DePonte, Maria C., Wilke, Jeremy A., Boyle, David T., Gillum, Maxwell Z., Schlosser, Daniel A., Lam, Vivian H., Kaleem, Hasan, Maxwell, Eric M., Baber, Ashleigh E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.02.2019; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Chemical bonds; Complex systems; Deuterium; Ethanol; Exchanging; Hydrogen; Hydrogen bonding; Hydrogen/deuterium exchange; Low temperature; Proteins; Substrates; Temperature; TPD; Water; Water; Hydrogen/deuterium exchange; TPD; Au; Ethanol; Hydrogen bonding
• ISSN: 0039-6028; 1879-2758
• DOI: 10.1016/j.susc.2018.10.001

•Temperature programmed desorption shows that the exchange of hydrogen and deuterium occurs below 200 K on Au(111).•The exchange of hydrogen and deuterium between ethanol and water molecules occurs without the presence of a reactive surface species or reactive substrate.•Isotopic studies show that the exchange occurs between both ethanol/deuterated water and ethanol–OD/water adsorbates on Au(111).•The formation of ethanol/water hydrogen–bonded networks on Au(111) is expected to facilitate the concerted motion of hydrogen/deuterium atoms at low temperatures. Proton transfer and hydrogen-bonding networks are critical in biochemical processes including protein folding and protein–protein interactions. Surface science can simplify these complex systems by studying the exchange of hydrogen and deuterium atoms between molecules supported on surfaces. Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) was used to show that the exchange of hydrogen and deuterium between co–adsorbed isotopologues of ethanol and water occurs readily at temperatures below 200 K on Au(111). Since Au(111) is an inert substrate that does not cause dissociation of water or ethanol at any temperature, the results herein suggest that Au(111) acts as a support to facilitate H/D exchange via hydrogen-bonded networks of molecular ethanol and water at low temperatures. [Display omitted]